Towards an Intrusion Detection System for the Internet of Things

Low powered and resource constrained devices are forming a greater part of our networks. Often only containing the minimum requirement computational power for its task, these devices often do not have the capability for traditional intrusion detection methods; they can not produce or store the audit trails necessary for inspection. It is necessary to adapt existing IDS systems and approaches to these constraints. This thesis will aim to explore novel collaborative intrusion detection systems for networks of these low powered devices. This will involve exploring issues of managing heterogenous data collected from cooperative and distributed sensing networks and searching this data for indicators of compromise. With many networks allowing for a bring-your-own-device policy, it will explore the level of trust required from each device for such a collaborative system to work. An evaluation of host vs network based intrusion detection for the resource constrained devices will explore possible optimisations of currently used intrusion detection algorithms, as well as optimal deployment strategies of the detection system on a network

The most significant impact of the renewal of Royal Holloway's CDT in Cyber Security will be the production of at least 30 further PhD-level graduates. In view of the strong industry involvement in both the taught and research elements of the programme, CDT graduates are "industry-ready": through industry placements, they have exposure to real-world cyber security problems and working environments; because of the breadth of our taught programme, they gain exposure to cyber security in all its forms; through involvement of our industrial partners at all stages of the programme, the students are regularly exposed to the language and culture of industry. At the same time, they will continue to benefit from generic skills training, equipping them with a broad set of skills that will be of use in their subsequent workplaces (whether in academia, industry or government). They will also engage in PhD-level research projects that will lead to them developing deep topic-specific knowledge as well as general analytical skills.

One of the longer-term impacts of CDT research, expressed directly through research outputs, is to provide mechanisms that help to enhance confidence and trust in the on-line society for ordinary citizens, leading in turn to quality of life enhancement. CDT research has the potential of directly impacting the security of deployed system, for example helping to make the Internet a more secure place to do business. Moreover the work on the socio-technical dimensions of security and privacy also gives us the means to influence government policy to the betterment of society at large. Through the training component of the CDT, and subsequent engagement with industry, our PhD students are exposed to the widest set of cyber security issues and forced to think beyond the technical boundaries of their research. In this way, our CDT is training a generation of cyber security researchers who are equipped - philosophically as well as technically - to cope with whatever cyber security threats the future may bring. The programme equip students with skills that will enable them to understand, represent and solve complex engineering questions, skills that will have an impact in UK industry and academic long beyond the lifetime of the CDT.